Moving Day

During graduation on Thursday, much of the talk among the various teachers was of summer vacations and impending flights. Some people were leaving the following day or over the weekend, while a few, like us, were leaving early the following week and some, not leaving at all. Those who had upcoming flights were mostly packed and ready to go, others had lots of last minute plans to pick up clothes at tailors, have those last meals at favorite spots and say goodbye to friends made over the past year or two. Steven and I had all of those plans as well, with a flight leaving the following Tuesday evening at 11 p.m., but when Tuesday morning came around, we found ourselves yet unpacked and with more than a few last minute items to attend to.

The Grandma Gauntlet

If we weren't conspicuous before as a white, westerners living in a Vietnamese neighborhood, having a tiny baby with us whenever we went out made us even more so. In Vietnamese culture, after giving birth mothers are expected to rest while the rest of the family cares for the newborn. This period of rest for the mother typically lasts a month, while the corresponding period for the newborn, during which he or she is to be kept inside lasts a bit longer, with most children not making a public appearance until three months of age. Unfortunately, we did not have the time, nor the available family, for such luxuries, and Hazel and I were out and about the day after she came home.

All Aboard the Bureaucracy Train

(Warning - This may be as painful to read as it was to experience.) 

Finally, armed with a baby, and a birth date for all the forms, Steven and I were able to begin the process of getting all the documents that Hazel needs to leave the country. The first of those forms was her actual birth certificate, which would be issued by the Vietnamese Department of Justice.

On Thursday morning, the day after we'd been discharged from the hospital, Hazel and I set out to the US Consulate to get a stamp on the form that stated that she would be accepted as an American citizen. After the hassle of getting the baby bag packed, getting the baby ready, getting myself ready, getting out of my neighborhood with the least amount of tongue clicking from all the Vietnamese woman who think I should a) not be leaving the house and b) have Hazel bundled up like a Himalayan Sherpa in 90 degree heat, getting the form stamped was a breeze.

Our First Night Home

 Wednesday evening was our first night alone with the baby. I was looking forward to being able to relax, or at least be able to get through the night without the fear of having a nurse come in and snatch our baby, but i found that the flip side of not having a nurse to snatch up your baby is that there isn't a nurse to come in and snatch up your baby...

Hospitalized

As part of our Labor and Delivery Package at the Franco-Vietnamese Hospital (FV) we paid for a five day, four night stay in the Maternity Ward. Steven was sure I'd be ready to leave before the five days were up, but sitting in my air conditioned hospital room, with meals coming in on a tray on a regular basis, I wasn't quite so sure I'd be ready to head back to our hot house where I'd have to figure out how to feed myself and take care of this baby any sooner than I had to, but it turns out – he was right.

Hazel's Birth Story

On the evening of Friday, May 21, Steven and I had plans to go to the End-of-Year AIS school play at 8:00, but before we went, we decided to go on one of our now regular evening walks around the track in yet another attempt to induce our baby, now almost 42 weeks, to join us outside of the womb. I had been walking regularly for months at this point, running having become a bit too much for my overstretched stomach and the baby that I pictured bouncing around on her head every time I took a step, but this evening, I felt like having a run. One of my former college roommates had put herself into preterm labor by running too late in pregnancy and while in her situation, labor was stopped and she continued to term, I figured that if she could do it, I could do it!

Haze's CRBA Appointment Comes...and Goes

When we initially learned of our pregnancy back in September, we looked up all of the steps we’d have to take to have the baby’s birth registered abroad and to bring her back to the US with us in the summer. As I’ve posted before, all of the paperwork and timing involved seemed quite daunting and we began to prepare early.

According the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) webpage, all appointments must be made three months in advance and passports should be applied for at the same time, a second process which would take about 3 to 5 weeks to complete. Due to these constraints we made an appointment for May 20, 2010, giving us three days after what we were told was the last day the baby would be allowed to remain in gestation before being induced and a month before we hoped to leave Viet Nam, arguably a tight stretch on either end, but the best we could do given our constraints.

Hazel's Baby Shower

On Sunday, April 18th, our good friends Marjie and Katherine threw a baby shower for us at the Castle (their five story house in District 1). The invitation initially included our friends of the male persuasion, but after some subtle hints from Steven, and some not-so-subtle hints from other friends, that baby showers were just not events men attended, it was revised to a female only group.

Reflections on being Pregnant in Viet Nam

My most common response to the now frequently asked, "How are you feeling?" by well meaning friends and acquaintances alike is "HOT!" April and May in Viet Nam (and presumably, June, July, August, etc.) are hot. Not just hot, but the stifling, perspiration soaked, still hot after four daily showers, heat that pervades every moment spent outside of an air conditioned room or taxi-cab. I attribute this somewhat to pregnancy, but practically speaking, I realize that everyone else is suffering in this same heat, I just find it a bit less bearable in the confines of the few outfits I have left that actually fit my now 167 pound frame.

Either an Original Document or a Certified Copy and One Hysterical Pregnant Woman

Because we hope to leave Viet Nam sometime in late June and we have so much to do in terms of paperwork and documentation before we can leave, I started gathering documents early on, or rather Kevin did, as all of our documents are in his attic. So by December of last year, all of our necessary documents traveled from Kevin's attic, to our parent's home in Lake Worth, to our house here in Viet Nam, or so I thought...

Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon

Yesterday, April 30, 2010 was the 35th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, the day the North Vietnamese troops stormed the South Vietnamese headquarters and claimed control of the city, ultimately reunifying the country under the Communist government of the north. For the past week, we have watched as parade barricades have been erected, huge doves surrounded in lights, along with flowers, stars and other luminous decorations began to adorn the major streets in the central business district and traffic built up in anticipation of this momentous day. In initially I was intrigued and looking forward to being here on this historical day, but the more I thought about it and the more I talked about it with others, I realized that for many, this is not a day to be celebrated, but more a day to remember those that lost their lives, both American and Vietnamese, and the countless Vietnamese whose lives where forever altered that day in the midst of the chaos, pandemonium and terror of the ending of a war. So as the city celebrated with an early morning parade, I decided to steer clear of the jubilant crowds and wondered how many in Saigon, like myself, were doing more reflecting than celebrating on the anniversary 35 anniversary of the end of the war in Viet Nam.

(A Doctor in Atlanta remembers the Fall of Saigon)

Labor was supposed to be the hard part....

.. but when you have a baby abroad, what happens afterward, can cause you just as much pain...

Because our child will be born in Vietnam, as opposed to the US, where you just get a birth certificate from the hospital, or in the mail, or from a stork, or some other presumably easy process; our process is going to be a bit more difficult. Instead of just a birth certificate we will need the following:

House Construction

Our neighborhood is in a great location, right on the borders of three of the city's districts, including District 1, the city's financial and upscale tourist district, and the constant state of demolition and construction since we've lived here reflects its popularity. As in much of the city, the houses in our neighborhood are mostly of the high, narrow variety, most a mere 12 feet or less across and anywhere from one to six stories high. The one story variety are becoming somewhat of an endangered species as their owners either convert their property or sell to investors who tear down the original structures and build five or six story giants in their place. Such a transformation is taking place in our little alley with the house two houses down and across, under construction and the couple just across the street in the process of moving out in anticipation of their house being torn down in the very near future.

Mui Ne

After five or six weekends in a row staying in the city, Steven and I decided that it was time for a mini-getaway. Saigon is huge, but after you've seen the tourist sites, it really just becomes the city you live in, one with limited options for entertainment - gym, pool, shopping, movies, and going out to eat - all of which get old like anything else. So we made the 5 and a half hour journey north to Mui Ne where we met up with friends and spent an enjoyable weekend at the beach.

Morning Errands

Last night I tripped over my phone wire and ripped it out of the socket, so I had to buy a new wire this morning. Luckily since we've had other wire issues, I knew right where to go. There is a man that has a fix-it shop (along a row of other fix-it shops on fix-it shop street), near our house, who we have had fix a computer wire and the remote for our dvd player. This morning, after my morning walk, I walked down to his shop and showed him the broken phone wire and asked if he could make me a new one, twice the size of my old one.

Blogger Blocked in Viet Nam

Along with Facebook, it seems that the Vietnamese government is blocking access to Blogger as well. I'm going to try to enter posts when it is up and running, but my access is sporadic. Hopefully the Honduran government won't be so involved and I'll be able to keep the stories coming!

Honduras

Since we are planning a move to this Central American country, I thought I should do a little research. Having never visited Honduras and given my tendency not to know much about other countries until I actually visit them, I am quite ignorant of all things Honduran. My pre-research knowledge consisted the following facts:

Western Hemisphere, Here We Come (Back)!

After two successful, adventure filled years in Viet Nam, Steven and I are planning to pack our bags and head back west this summer. We've both been offered positions at an international school in San Pedro Sula, Honduras for the 2010 - 2011 school year. I say "we," because in order to make the move, we will both need to work to support our family; not that the cost of living in Honduras is high - quite the opposite - but because as Americans educated in America, we both have student loan debt that needs to be paid off every month and adds quite a bit to our living expenses.

2010 Saigon Cyclo Challenge

 Last Sunday, Steven and I attended our second annual Saigon Cyclo Challenge to benefit Saigon Children's Charity. I was there as a spectator and Steven, as a part of the American International School Cyclo Team. Since he had driven a cyclo last year, he agreed to play a game instead - the race consisting of cyclo's racing around the track in-between "check-points" where team members play games to move their team ahead. 

Unvited Guests in our Ceiling

A few weeks ago I began to hear scratching on the tiles of our ceiling upstairs. A previous ferret-owner for almost 10 years, I immediately associated the scratching with rodents. Cats don't scratch like that, I thought. Every day over the next week or so, I heard the scratching again, like something trying to come through the ceiling.